[HowTo] Fix Steam always validating cache files

Yes, that annoying Validating Steam cache files message pop-ups up each time you launch Team Fortress 2 or Counter Strike Source from a cold boot (meaning you haven’t launched the game since your PC started up).Here’s a quick rundown of purported fixes for this recurring TF2 cache problem that MAY work for you.

Do take note of the stress in the MAY work part since not everyone has been succesful in fixing the issue, short of installing Steam on a new partition/hard drive or reformatting their PC entirely

Solution 1:

Close Steam and any running game

Move out the following files from your Team Fortress 2 installation folder to a temporary folder: